Ballet beautifully presented

INVOLVEMENT, HARD work, deep commitment and perfect co-ordination were evident in the production of Ainthinai - a - thematic ballet, presented by Abhai, during its one-day festival, conceived, composed and choreographed by its president and dancer, M.V. Narasimhachari, and his wife, dancer Vasanthalakshmi; Ainthinai depicted a landscape of emotions, based on the five regions divided during the period of Sangam poetry, known as Kurinji (Mountainous- Union), Mullai (Forest- Separation), Neidal (Coastal-Grief), Palai (desert- despair) and Marutham (Fertile-Happiness). The concept presented a joyful journey through the five regions of emotional and cultural lives of the people of this era, which co-existed peacefully and made their lives a rich, colourful, vibrant network.

Narasimhachari has put in enoromous efforts in bringing together over 40 young dancers from several disciplines who are members of Abhai. The audience response was something very special. Narasimhachari's choreography was lively, interesting and brimming with energy and enthusiasm. Especially, the folk dances of the people of the different regions were very impressive. The spontaneiting with which he recited the jaitis for driving the cattle of Mullai region, provided thrill.

Narasimhachari had composed all the technical sections of the classical medium of dance and the music for all the compositions with a choice selection of ragas.

The texts had been carefully and aptly chosen by Prof. Raghuraman from various Tamil literary sources, and well-known composers. Kumbhakonam Gajendran, author of most of the linking lyrics, deserves special praise, especially for Oviyamadi (Neidal in Kalyani), Thirai Kadal (Todi) and Veenai (Vasantha-Marutham) which came out beautifully in musical form. Radha Badri sang some of the songs soulfully while Narasimhachari sang most of the other pieces with deep feeling.

The heroes and heroines of each region depicting the different states of their life, immersed in the joy of union or the sorrow of separation, revealed their refined skills and experience in the field of performing arts. The cast includes Kavitha, Ramu, Sheejith, Jayanthi Subramaniam, Suryanarayanamurthi, Swarnamalya Ganesh, Narendra, Srilata Vinodkumar, Uma Subramaniam, Rajeshkumar, Priya, Roja Kannan, Priyashree, Rajesh Adith, Srikanth, Shilpa, Suchitra, Sangita, and Anusha.

Also praiseworthy was the performance of several up and coming youngsters. Sriram, charioteer of the hero in Palai Tinai, stole the show with his innate skill for wit and humour. Avoidance of too many technical nuances and swara passages during every song- dance sequence would have helped more.

Nellai D. Kannan, S.S.R. Krishnan (mridangam), T.K. Parthasarathy (dolak and tabla), Parthasarathy (special effects), Nagarajan (violin), and Srinivasan (flute) rendered solid support to the presentation that had a dedicated team behind the curtain.

NANDINI RAMANI

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